Gabriella Saccocio

Gabriella is an undergraduate at UCLA majoring in Geography/Environmental Studies with a minor in Geospatial Information Systems and Technology (fancy words for creating maps and conducting research with satellites). Gabriella serves as the coordinator for Rising Earth’s Youth Advisory Board program which you can read about here. In her freetime, Gabriella is happy to be sketching or exploring LA, but is usually doing homework.

After her first summer interning at Rising Earth, she decided to continue working with the organization throughout the school year as she finds the work exciting and extremely rewarding. She is currently completing her internship at National Geographic in their Geographic Visualization Lab and helping to create a platform called "Earth Pulse".

For her, nothing is better than making young people excited about the environment through art.

Cierra Djokovich

Cierra is a recent graduate of UCLA where she earned a degree in Communications and minored in Entrepreneurship. Her studies taught her that being successful is about serving your own aspirations, the Earth, and all the people around you. She has dabbled in many startup businesses including a magazine, a public relations firm, and an event planning company, but really enjoys education and the environment. Cierra has always been in love with the written word and believes stories have a way of teaching people like nothing else can.

At Rising Earth, Cierra served as the coordinator of our Teen Production Council for high school students. She also helped coordinate the creation of our new curriculum in human impact education. Cierra now sits as a member of the Youth Advisory Board because she loves Rising Earth and its mission and hopes to support Rising Earth’s growth into the future.

Kendra Djokovich

Kendra is a recent graduate of UCLA where she studied Communications and Entrepreneurship. In her senior year at UCLA she completed a thesis on the role of social media in modern feminism wherein she investigated user’s acceptance and interaction with feminist content. Throughout the last few years she has gained experience in the startup world working for a wide variety of companies, each coincidentally female run. Outside of her studies and work, she is a serious foodie with a knack for cooking. 

Having been raised in a family of outdoor enthusiasts, she finds the mission of Rising Earth to be all the more important in today’s world. After her first internship with Rising Earth as a marketing and public relations intern she stayed on as part of the Youth Advisory Board in order to continue helping make a positive impact.  

DuBois Ellington Stewart

Dubois is a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Science, Technology, and Society, or STSC. He is currently working for his A+ Certification in the ITWorks Program. He worked with Rising Earth as a college intern for the virtual summer session in 2020, organizing and researching stories for Rising Earth's first graphic short stories series. He loved it, which is why he decided to come back as a youth board member.

Uranchimeg (Megan) Altankhuyag

Uranchimeg is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, studying Landscape Architecture and minoring in Sustainable Design. Her passions lie within the built environment, empowering communities and building resilient, regenerative spaces. She is currently in a team with her peers to build an off-grid tiny house that is socially and environmentally conscious. In her free time, she loves watercolor painting, baking, watching shows with her sister and friends, and embarking on trips to local parks. 

After participating in two summers of Rising Earth’s Teen Production Council, she served as a College Intern, creating activities and helping students develop their Graphic Short Stories projects. As a member of Rising Earth’s Youth Advisory Board, she aims to create a space for students to find their voice artistically and engage in art.